Sunday, January 6, 2013

Detox Bath

My little sister once said "the only thing worse about having sick kids, is being sick and still being needed by kids."

It's hard to have a sick child, to see them miserable and know that you can't take it away from them. It's hard to watch a toddler vomit and then look at you, pleading with you to take away the pain because that's what mommy does, she kisses it better and takes away the pain.

Sometimes it's even harder to be the one that is sick and to still crawl out of bed to make breakfast, clean the kitchen, find shoes, fight traffic on the way to school, convince a child that they really do need a nap, make lunch, play dolls, play house, play play-doh, make dinner, step on Lego's, mop up the floor after bath time and do it all with a smile and without losing your temper.

I saw a Pin about a detox bath and in the instructions it said, "This is especially beneficial if you are trying to rid the body of a bug of some sort, like the flu, or a cold."

add 1-2 cups of baking sodaadd 1TBS to 1/3 cup of ground gingerSoak in the tub for 40 minutes. The first 20 minutes are said to help your body remove the toxins, while
the second 20 minutes are for absorbing the minerals in the water

The ginger can make you sweat profusely so be sure to drink plenty of water during and after the bath.

The website has a lot of great information on what each of the ingredients do and some tips to help make the bath more beneficial.

So I waited until I felt something come on. I didn't have to wait to long, tis the season for bugs. The kids got some sort of strange bug that left them tired and with a low fever for a few days. About 4 days into it I started feeling warm and tired. After I put the kids in bed I got my ingredients and filled up the tub.

The ginger made the water look pretty nasty and I was surprised at how much the scent of ginger filled the bathroom. The epsom salt and baking soda dissolved immediately.

The website talked a lot about how ginger can make you sweat, so I started out with 1 Tbsp. Ten minutes later I was actually getting cold and not sweating at all, so I added two more tablespoons. I still didn't sweat but I sure did tingle. My skin was really tingly for the rest of the bath.

Sitting in the tub for 40 minutes sounded like a long time, but I grabbed my ipad and a book and really enjoyed myself, despite the tingling. As I was soaking I kept thinking about how the website said that the first 20 minutes are for the toxins to be pulled from your body and the next 20 minutes are for your body to absorb the minerals in the water. Soooooo, the toxins come out..... where do they go? Isn't your body going to soak them right back up?

The website also says that it's best to take the detox bath at night so you can immediately get into your bed and rest. During the 40 minutes in the tub I felt great, but as soon as I stood up I was surprised at how drained I felt. I felt weak and tired and was more then happy to follow the websites instructions by getting into bed. I was asleep in minutes and it was only 9pm

The Verdict: I woke up the next morning feeling fantastic. I was energetic and happy and even had a Snow White moment when I was singing silly songs while making breakfast. I never got the illness my kids had.

Of course there is no way to prove that the detox bath is responsible for keeping the illness at bay. However, I have taken 3 more when I felt as though something was coming on and I always woke up the next morning feeling fantastic.

The last time I took one I purposely waited to see if something was really coming. Sure enough i got a minor stomach bug. Half way through my first day of worshiping the porcelain thrown I took a detox bath then took a nap. I didn't feel any better and I was sick for another 24 hours.

So it's hard to say whether it works or not, but I do know that I enjoy them and I will probably be stocking up on more ground ginger

you can also try tea tree, eucaliptus or rosemary essential oils also. if you dont have the ginger. they are also remove toxin from body. I add 15 to 20 drop in my tub and no ginger. either all 3 or just 1...up to you.

I'm curious if this works partly because of all the extra sleep you end up getting as a result of having had the bath? That might also explain why it didn't work on the stomach bug that was already in progress - those things come on quick and strong. I'm going to try this one out for sure, if only as an excuse for my husband to give me 40 minutes alone in the bathroom!

I've thought the same thing about the extra sleep. I've done it a few more times since I have posted this and it seems that it's more of a deterrent method. If the kids get sick then I take a bath and I don't get what they have. If I'm already sick then it doesn't do anything to speed up recovery time. It could be coincidence but like you said, it's a great excuse to have alone time. Let me know what you think if you try it.

ginger+salt bath is a Chinese traditional method to combat cold. in the old days when science was not yet developed, "doctors" only OBSERVE the healing properties/phenomenon of different herbs, e.g. internal or external use of ginger 'heats up' the body and the cause of sweating helps curing cold.

nowadays we can confirm their observations with the research about raw ginger(and raw garlic as well) contains certain enzymes and chemicals and vitamins that kill germs/bacteria, stimulate blood circulation and boost immune system. with this, it is clear that freshly grinded ginger is way better than store-bought ginger powder because the useful substances may have been oxidized/evaporated substantially over time.

salt is also used in the bath for their dehydrating effect which helps draw the sweat out and it removes dead skin cells that block the hair pores. (i think the baking soda serves the same clear-pore purpose?!)

i remember my mom would boil me a cup of ginger(around 10g) brown sugar drink whenever i showed symptoms of a cold - sneezes and running nose. she then urged me to go to bed and changed my clothes when they're wetted by sweat. it works wonder everytime. up to now it saves us a lot of medical fees/charges and prevents from unnecessary intake of antibiotics. we use this drink as preventive measure as well. when the weather forcast tells us that a temperature drop will occur soon, we will make this drink into a simple delicious soup dessert by putting in sweet potatos(we call it 蕃薯糖水, just found this youtube reference for you: http://youtu.be/oVWkzwb_6nU actually to maximize the release of useful substances, smashing the ginger piece is much better than slicing it). i like adding lemon/orange zest too. wish your family will like this chinese 'medicinal' dessert. :-)

oh, forget to point out something about the youtube video: * she washes the ingredients "after" cutting them. that's not correct. wash before cutting is good enough.* and sweet potato skin contains a lot of fibre and minerals that is beneficial to clearing our intestinal wall(cure constipation). so don't peel it away.* the smaller the chunk size the quicker it's cooked through, so i usually cut it into sugar cube size. saves energy and easy to bite for kids.

I did this not because I was sick but just the thought of a detox bath intrigued me, especially after reading how relaxed you were after taking it, since I've been dealing with insomnia I figured that was a plus, so I did this and let me just say, the sweat is real and afterwards I felt great. I hope it helps me sleep tonight. I drank water and a chamomile tea so we'll see. I used 1cup each and 1tbsp ginger. Anyways I can see myself doing this often. Thank you for posting.